Nineteen Hanlan scullers from the coastal rowing/distance group headed for Welland on Sunday May 4. Their hopes were high that Mother Nature would welcome them with some sunshine and calm waters for the 2014 Banana Belt Tour. Hanlan members were eager to get on the water; for some it was their first row of what has been a particularly cold, windy and late spring.

Rigging was done in a beautiful space where a large dock proved convenient for launching on the 15-kilometre course. In all, there were about 35 participants. Coincidentally the Tour rowed alongside Upper Canada College crews (one of Hanlan’s resident clubs) who were there for a training session. Everyone had a great row and smiles were the order of the day. My mom was experimenting with the video feature on my camera and shemanaged to capture a quad led by Eric Hall and some ladies making the smoothest docking I’ve ever seen!

The water was very chilly that day, numbing fingertips almost instantly. But the anticipation of grabbing the oars and digging in outweighed the fear of the cold water beneath us.

Story with help of Hugh Fletcher
A number of Hanlan members volunteered their time on Sunday to finish building and installing a new section of the ramp to the western dock. Anyone launching a boat from that dock knows how precarious the bottom of the ramp had become.

As always Hugh Fletcher, the Hanlan director who troubleshoots property issues, organized an efficient and able crew including Vlad Vukovic who volunteered to help even though he is not a member. It happens that Vlad's specialty is building decks. If anyone in the Club needs some carpentry work done, contact Vlad at Bear Woods Solutions (647-270-7685). Also if anyone is selling a canoe or an aluminum boat, Vlad is looking for same.

Thank you to the many volunteers who worked on this much-needed maintenance of the dock.

Hanlan

Toronto Rowing

Founded in 1975 by Sam Craig to establish the Upper Canada College Rowing Program, Hanlan Boat Club is home to two of the top high school programs in the country in Havergal and UCC, the University of Toronto Varsity Rowing Team (the oldest rowing program in Canada), a thriving Masters, Junior, and Senior Competitive Membership, and a growing stable of Community Programs.